Chapter Four: Horrifying Reality

Horrified, Elrohir ground his teeth together, and felt his heart lurch at the coldness that seeped from the leader. He watched as Rivya dropped to the ground face first mouth open in surprise. Swallowing, Elrohir turned his eyes away from the dreadful sight and held back the tears that threatened to surface.

The leader glanced at the amusing sight and decided to egg the young child on. “You know, she would have lived had you been more co-operative.”

Lifting his eyes, Elrohir narrowed his eyes. “When the time comes, you will regret ever meeting me.” He hissed.

The leader laughed menacingly. “Take the child over to the others. The man still has a decision to make.”

Elrohir gasped. “You already took away one of his choices!”

Laughing the man sneered. “True, but you see, he has two children.”

Feeling sick, Elrohir snarled, pulling against the grip of the man who held him. “You wouldn’t dare!”

“Wouldn’t I?”

Elrohir grinned. “Why would you risk loosing money should you kill the boy?”

The leader stopped, his grin washing off his face in fury.

“With the proper training, he could be an asset as a slave, plus, you will get a lot of money for him being so young.”

The leader raised his eyebrows. “Trying to save the boy are we?”

Elrohir smiled wider. “What of the girl? You could always have her sold as a maid.”

“Women sell for less, child.” The leader snarled. “Kill the daughter, and gather the boy and man for travel.”

“And this one?” The man asked holding Elrohir.

“He comes with us. A youth such as he will sell for much.” The leader sneered walking away from Elladan.

“This one?” Another man asked walking up to Elladan looking down at him.

The leader looked over his shoulder. “He comes with us, despite him being injured, that one will behave himself, to make sure he lives.”

Elrohir felt his heart sink. Shoved forward, he still knew he had yet to be discovered as an elf, so that gave him a slight advantage. If they took Elladan, Elrohir had no means of escape. To ensure his brothers safety he would have to remain calm and attempt to bring Elladan out of the state he was in. At least for Elrohir he would be able to keep an eye on his twin and make sure he would be alright.

As he was lead away, Imrid walked beside him, tears falling onto his face and his little son crying openly. Glancing over his shoulder, Elrohir spotted one of the men lift Elladan into his arms, flinging him over his shoulder roughly. Grinding his teeth together, he almost gasped in surprise as a small pain jolted through his chest. Startled, Elrohir knew it was happening again. Elladan and him had shared so much in the past, that no matter what happened they could always feel what the other felt. Whether they were conscious or not.

Their bond was so strong that even with Elladan as injured as he was, they could still reach each other even in darkness. Ever since their journey almost two years ago, they had never been the same. Their bond had strengthened, their ties to one another had grown, and their heart had tied together as though they were the same person. Elrond had never been able to figure it out, or even themselves. Over the past year, both he and Elladan had yet to figure out how they were able to feel the others injuries, sense danger to one if they were apart, and even able to mind speak.

Shaking his head, Elrohir frowned as his brother was jolted and placed into a better position. Flinching, Elrohir pulled on the rope that was held by his guard. The man jerked it back along with Elrohir and growled. “No funny stuff boy!”

Elrohir drew his lips into a tight line, but remained obedient for the moment.

They walked the entire day, but they finally stopped for the night and Elrohir and Imrid were tied together to a tree. The man's son was taken away and tied to a tree across the camp. Imrid was exhausted, and slumped against the tree sadly. Elrohir winced at the grief mirrored on the mans face, and sighed. The screams that had erupted from his daughter as she was wrenched from her father’s side still echoed in Elrohir’s ears.

Glancing up, Elrohir saw the men prepare the camp, starting a fire, and placing bedrolls around it. A lean to was set up and Elladan was placed on the hard ground roughly, making Elrohir bite against the cry of pain. A large tent was set up near the lean to, and Elrohir sneered.

“Do you think she suffered?” A whispered voice drew Elrohir’s attention.

Raising his eye brow, he looked at the man. Unable to lie, but not wanting to hurt the man more, Elrohir glanced away and nodded. “I wish I could say she did not, but the leader is malicious. Knowing him he does this sort of thing for fun. It’s like a game to him.”

A sharp punch caused Elrohir’s head to snap back hitting the tree trunk behind him. Biting his lip, holding back the startled cry, Elrohir glared at the man who had struck him.

“No talking or I will render you unconscious like your brother.”

Curling his lip, Elrohir growled at the man who backed away quickly, but raised his fist and shook it warning Elrohir to remain silent.

Elrohir smirked. “Wait until you discover what I am, then you won’t be so brave.”

Imrid looked at Elrohir quickly at the softly whispered words. “What do you mean?”

Elrohir clamped his mouth shut and shook his head firmly. After awhile, Elrohir lifted his eyes and caught the leader trader looking at him deep in thought. Knowing instantly that he was being measured up, Elrohir grinned winking at the leader. Instantly, the leader narrowed his eyes and looked away waving to another man who leaned in to hear the whispered words.

Tilting his head slightly, Elrohir strained his ears trying to hear what was being said.

“Keep an eye on that one.” The leader whispered

The man nodded.

“If he becomes difficult give him something to make him more resilient.”

The man nodded again and drifted off into the shadows.

Smirking to himself, Elrohir heard the man trudge through the under brush sneaking up on him. Looking to his right, where Imrid was bound, Elrohir noticed the man sleeping.

Shaking his head, Elrohir tilted his head back and leaned it against the trunk of the tree, momentarily forgetting about the bump that was there now. Instantly, he jerked his head up and narrowed his eyes in frustration.

Focusing his eyes across the camp, Elrohir saw Elladan lying perfectly still. Keeping his mind on his brother, Elrohir closed his eyes trying to reach him mentally. With his other senses open, his hearing, and second sense, Elrohir was able to concentrate most of his energy on his twin.

Knowing that his brother was just out of his reach, Elrohir retreated back to his own mind and shook his head absently. He wouldn’t give up. Elrohir couldn’t, his brother was lost at the moment and needed help to find his way back, so Elrohir decided to try again later. Tilting his head back, just enough so that the back of his head wouldn’t connect with the trunk, but enough so that he could see the stars, he remained still watching silently.

The camp grew quiet, and Elrohir lowered his head looking around the camp, listening for sounds of hidden movement. Closing his eyes, he knew that to prevent the traders from discovering who he was, he needed to act more like a man then an elf. He opened his eyes again.

Keeping his eyes focused on the camp, he kept his senses open, looking for weaknesses within the group. The first thing he noticed was the lack of guard presence, however Elrohir knew that they could be hiding, so didn’t take any chances to draw attention to himself. The other thing Elrohir noticed was how disorganized the men were. Their fire was carelessly made, not shielding the flames from other traveler’s sight. Thinking hard, Elrohir guessed that was how they attracted attention to lure others in for possible slaves. Frowning, Elrohir knew he needed to leave some kind of trace for his father and the others so that they could find them.

Elrohir and Elladan’s predicament was worse then when they had traveled for the first time out of Rivendell. That journey had been a disaster. Both twins had been injured, and had lost each other for a time. The worry Elrohir had felt loosing his brother had been so great that when they had finally reunited with one another their bond seemed to have grown stronger. Their feä’s had connected leaving them breathless and frightened, but drew them closer to the other then before. Now they were able to feel pain and anguish while they were apart, even so much as leaving a mark on the other. They were able to sense the others thoughts, and even finish one another’s sentences.

Their second journey had gone better, that was until they had reached Mirkwood and had stumbled across a spiders nest. Elrohir shivered inwardly at the thought, remembering the prank his brother had pulled on their fiftieth begetting day. Pushing those thoughts to the side, Elrohir found himself unconsciously looking at the ground for the little creatures. Groaning, Elrohir glanced at his brother’s still form across the camp and sighed. He needed to find someway to reach Elladan and inform him of the dangers they were in. Elrohir also knew that he had to formulate a plan to leave a trail for his father and guards to follow when they discovered the predicament the twins had placed themselves in again.

Grunting, Elrohir muttered quietly. “Father will surely tan our hides this time, and he will never allow us to leave home again.”

Shaking his head, Elrohir closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off onto the path of dreams. If he were to remain in control he would need all the rest he could get.